$12.3 Million Contract Advances Novel Vaccine Adjuvant Targeting Tuberculosis

The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a $12.3 million contract to the University of Montana to develop a novel adjuvant for tuberculosis (TB) vaccine.

Adjuvants are integrated into numerous vaccines and are substances that boost their effectiveness.

The current leader in TB prevention is the 100-year-old Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), whose various versions are used globally.

Merck's TICE® BCG vaccine is available in the U.S. 

"The development and clinical evaluation of safe and effective adjuvants is urgently needed for the advancement of vaccines to combat the ongoing threat of bacterial and fungal infections, including tuberculosis, pertussis, and others," said Jay Evans, director of the UM center, in a press release on October 23, 2023.

Evans commented vaccine development for TB and other bacterial and fungal pathogens has been hampered by the lack of appropriate adjuvants and effective formulations.

"There is extraordinary research ongoing at UM that could positively impact the lives of countless people," Evans said. "Our Vaccine Research Team is dedicated to nurturing and cultivating an interactive research community at UM, specifically geared toward advancing these technologies to help individuals and communities in Montana and across the globe."

Drs. Evans and Walid Abdelwahab, along with their colleagues, are the co-principal investigators on the contract. The project includes researchers from the University of Chicago (Dr. Shabaana Khadar), the Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Dr. Smriti Mehra), and Missoula-based Inimmune Corp., a corporate development partner.

This new contract builds upon a recently completed $13 million NIH Adjuvant Discovery Contract, which identified the lead candidate being advanced toward human clinical trials in the current award.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.6 million people died from TB in 2021. Worldwide, TB outbreaks are the 13th leading cause of death. 

In 2020, almost two-thirds of TB cases in children worldwide were either not reported or went undiagnosed and untreated, according to the WHO.

Certain cities have recently reported increases in TB cases in the United States.

The U.S. CDC reported in March 2023 that TB cases increased by 5% in 2022, with 60 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and territories provisionally reporting 8,300 TB cases.